Commercializing Advanced (Second and Third Generation) Biofuels Technologies

Transcription

1 Commercializing Advanced (Second and Third Generation) Biofuels Technologies E. Kendall Pye Chief Scientific Officer, Lignol Energy Corporation Burnaby, BC

2 Commercial Progression of the Biofuels Industry 1 st Generation Biofuels primarily made from food and feed crops Brazil; ethanol from cane sugar since 1970 s, now ~ 7 billion gallons/yr USA; ethanol from corn starch since the early 1980 s, now ~12 billion gallons/yr EU; primarily biodiesel from vegetable oils and animal fats, some ethanol ~ 1 billion food versus fuel controversy impacts on land use, more crop land annual production dependant on climate and disease, volatile feedstock prices 2 nd Generation Biofuels primarily from lignocellulosic biomass Only now nearing commercialization in many parts of the world Various technologies under development; pyrolysis or gasification with chemical or biological synthesis from syngas pretreatment of feedstock with acid, steam, ammonia, etc. high cost of enzymatic saccharification 3 rd Generation Biofuels - lignocellulosic biorefineries and algae multiple product streams created from biomass, improved economics preserves the higher values of the products 2

3 Conventional Oil Refinery Biorefinery Gasoline Diesel fuel Cellulosic ethanol Lignin Petrochemicals Bio-based chemicals 3

4 Maximizing Value from Biomass Fractions; retaining important chemical structures Ethanol HP-L Lignin C6 Sugars Yeast Extractives Cellulose 40%-45% Enzymes C5 &C6 Sugars Biofuels & Bio-Based Chemicals This approach accelerates commercialization: 1. Diversification of revenue streams lowers risks 2. Smaller size biorefineries are profitable (lower plant capex) 3. Substantial GHG emissions reduction (carbon credits) 4

5 Introduction to Lignol Emerging cellulosic ethanol company deploying the Biochemical Biorefinery Concept Operations in Western Canada & Eastern US (Philadelphia) ~40+ employees Well-funded in the past 4 years (has gained access to ~$79M including a $30M US DOE grant to build a demo scale facility) Much of its technology is already proven on a semi-commercial scale Goal: Commercialize a biorefinery process for low cost cellulosic ethanol production with the greatest environmental benefits 5

6 Lignol s Process Overview Hardwood, Softwood, Agricultural Residues Lignol s Pretreatment Process Recovered Solvent Solvent Recovery HP-L Lignin Furfural Industrial Sugars Spent Solvent Clean celluloserich substrate Enzymes &Yeast Enzymatic Saccharification & Fermentation Distillation Distillation Ethanol Stillage 6 6

7 Lignol acquired technology developed by General Electric and Repap (Alcell) GE Wood-to-ethanol pilot plant; gas turbine fuel Alcell Wood pulp production on industrial scale Proved markets for novel High Purity Lignin (HP-L lignin) Over $100 million spent on development 7

8 Proven 1 st Gen. Biomass Pretreatment Technology New Brunswick, Canada ( ) 60 tpd feed capacity (hardwoods) 8

9 Clean Cellulose-Rich Substrate Other leading pretreatment technologies: Lignol s Pretreated Wood Dilute-Acid-Pretreated Corn Stover Steam-Exploded Wood ~95% Fermentable Components Only ~60% Fermentable Components 9

10 Woody Biomass Contains Valuable Chemicals Lignin is a matrix aromatic polymer composed of phenolic structures; the only major natural source of benzene rings Lignin 10

11 Possible HP-L Lignin Structure OH HOCH 2 OCH 3 O H 3 CO CH 2 OH CH 2 OH O HOCH 2 HCOH HCOH O HCOH CH 2 H 3 CO H 3 CO OH HO OCH 3 11

12 Current Petrochemical Industry Uses Oil and Gas to Produce Primary Olefins and Aromatics Current World Output 110 MM Tons/yr 65 MM Tons/yr 70 MM Tons/yr 12

13 HP-L TM Lignin Markets Legislation, innovation and consumer demand is driving adoption of green products formaldehyde is restricted in California, France, Finland and Japan fuel efficiency, vehicle weight reduction (LCCF) - US DOE FreedomCAR program Applications in resin systems are significant: PF resins and their products Epoxy resins and their derivatives Polyurethane resins and derivatives Furan resins and their derivatives Animal Feed Additives; non-antibiotic growth promoters, antioxidants Carbon fiber development with Oak Ridge National Labs and companies like BAE Systems (British Aerospace) potential markets to support a large number of biorefineries 13

14 Engineering HP-L TM Lignins (Substitution) 14

15 Customized HP-L TM Lignin Chemistry for Specific Needs Making Lignol s Lignins Work for the Wood Adhesive Industry PB & MDF Wood Panels Containing Lignol s HP-L TM Lignins 15

16 16 Products Made with Lignol s HP-L TM Lignins

17 HP-L TM Lignins For Automotive Carbon Fiber (LCCF) CARBON FIBER MERCEDES AMG SLS CF is 4x lighter than steel CF is 5-6x stronger than steel Tokyo Auto Salon Honda Civic Mugen Type-RR 17

18 HP-L TM Lignins For Automotive Carbon Fiber (LCCF) 13,000,000 cars & light trucks produce annually in the USA ORNL ~220 lbs LCCF /vehicle (on average) ~440 lbs HP-L TM Lignin/vehicle (on average) ~$3.0B/year potential US HP-L TM Lignin market for automotive LCCF Application LCCF Time-to-Market Lignol s Commercial Plants (2,000 tpd feed) Ethanol (gal/year) Vehicles ~5-10 years 27 commercial plants 1.5B (at <$2.00/gal) ~10% 2011 RFS2 Wind Turbines <5 years Unknown Unknown Insulating Materials Now Unknown Unknown Source: Compere A.L. et al. Low Cost Carbon Fiber From Renewable Resources, Oak Ridge National Laboratory & Lignol Innovations Ltd. 18

19 Development Partners for HP-L TM Lignin Foundry Resins: HA International Coatings: PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) Adhesives: Huntsman Corporation (NYSE:HUN) Construction Materials: Kingspan Corporation (KSP:L) 19

20 Technology Deployment Path Stage Capacity (biomass feed) Capacity (ethanol) Status Pre-Pilot Grams/hour Complete Industrial Pilot Demonstration Commercial 1 tonne/day 100,000 L/yr 100 tonnes/day million liters/yr tonnes/day million liters/yr Complete Developing Planning 20

21 Lignol s Integrated Biorefinery Pilot Plant Capacity: 1 tonne per day (dry basis) Fully integrated mini-biorefinery Fully instrumented Industrial equipment Rated at 100,000 l/yr CE ethanol Feedstocks: Hardwood & softwood, agricultural residues, energy crops Products: Ethanol, HP-L TM lignin, furfural, other chemicals Operation: past few weeks 24/7 in campaigns (before 24/5) 21

22 Conclusions Versatile biorefinery technology with multiple products such as Cellulosic Ethanol, Pulp, Chemicals and HP-L TM Lignins Process economics enhanced by multiple revenue streams process can be economic at smaller scale Multi-objective optimization is needed in a biorefinery to maximize revenue this is possible in Lignol s process. Bio-based chemicals can displace and enhance petrochemicalbased products and materials Significant GHG emissions reductions; isolate from price volatility of oil Lignol s biorefinery technology is demo ready 22 22

23 Conclusions Environmentally-benign no harsh chemicals used very little process water use Flexible and relatively simple production of multiple co-products from biomass using mostly standard chemical processing equipment May be used to revive closed manufacturing sites, such as pulp mills, and use their infrastructure, services, biomass resource and skilled labor pool 23 23

24 Thank you! For general information visit E. Kendall Pye, CSO, E. Kendall Pye, CSO,